ITRC develops "X-Loupe" micro-photo digital camera
2006-02-23 / Taiwan News / Jason Pan
Hailed as a big technical breakthrough by officials, one of Taiwan's top R&D centers has come out with a patented "portable digital microscope and camera" that can take photographs of details down to 6mm and 10 micron field of view.
Developed by the ITRC (Instrument Technology Research Center) in Hsinchu, the scientists in charge of the project said the idea was to combine the functions of a digital camera with microscope lens modules that has its own LED lighting and battery power for micro-photography purposes.
"It is our own home-grown technology and we have patent protection for this 2-in-1 combined microscope and camera. We are looking at worldwide sales through a technology-transfer deal with the private sector. It is ready for mass manufacturing and marketing next month," said ITRC director Dr. Chen Chien-jen yesterday.
"This is going to be a hot item, with many scientific and educational applications, besides everyday photography use. There have already been inquiries from distributors in Japan, China, Europe, and North America. We are looking at selling up to 20,000 units by the end of this year, with a conservative estimate of NT$300 million for worldwide sales," according to Chen.
With a mandate to promote R&D collaboration with private enterprises, Chen said ITRC has gone ahead with a manufacturing and marketing arrangement with Lumos Technology Co., which is said to have tech giant BenQ's backing as the company's largest shareholder.
Lumos official Peiying Tso said the camera is tentatively priced at around NT$ 30,000, and would be marketed under "X-Loupe" product series as an easy-to-use 5 mega-pixel "portable digital microscope and camera" with brand marks of both ITRC and Lumos.
Tso demonstrated the "X-Loupe" camera as capable of adapting to various lens modules for taking regular photographs and video recording, as well as for enlarged 60x, 100x, and 150x for minute detailed field-of-view down to the millimeter and 10 micron level.
"We are confident of commercial success. It is an affordable, convenient, and versatile digital camera no larger than a credit card, but can take micro-view photographs. It is like a precision instrument device in your hand, with endless applications for research, production, quality control, biomedical examination, and other scientific fields," according to Tso.
In comparison, the two closest microscope-camera device are much bulkier and at much higher prices, with Japan's Scalar DG-3 and DG-2 at ten times the price for between NT$200,000 and NT$300,000, while another Japanese manufacturer Keyence has a non-portable product with up to 18 million-pixels but priced at over NT$3 million.
At the press briefing in Hsinchu yesterday, officials also presented newly developed ITRC instruments, including a joint-venture with LCD flat panel manufacturer to come up with a testing device that is capable of examining 10,000 LCD backlight modules in one day with 100 percent coverage, which is a tremendous improvement on the current system that can only do 300 units a day.
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Testimonials
Kelly
(Mother of three children )
By watching me using X-LOUPE™ from their childhood, my kids will naturally grow their curiosity and observation ability
Dr.Si-Kuan Yang
( Family medicine )
X-LOUPE™ is compact and easy to operate. A patient can observe his/her skin at home and make records. Such innovative product is worthy of recommendation.
Chi-Shu Huang
( Instrument manufacturer )
By using X-LOUPE™ , it is possible to observe samples in situ. In addition, field inspection can be conducted on site, thus increasing the efficiency of quality control.
